Biological Anomalies. Humans I: A Catalog of Biological Anomalies

Corliss, William R.

The compiler notes that after a lifelong search for cases of anomalies, he concludes: "Nature is very anomalous or, equivalently, Nature is not yet well understood." This is the 12th volume in his Catalog of Anomalies. Truly, he is the Linnaeus of unexplained facts. Each case he includes is classed by subject, by the quality of the data, and by its degree of anomalousness. This volume is the first of what Corliss thinks will be 8 volumes on biological anomalies. It covers what he calls the "external attributes" of humans: "(1) their appearance to the outside viewer; (2) their anomalous modes of behavior; and (3) their unusual talents and faculties" (Introduction). Several of the categories described are relevant to exceptional human experience, e.g., luminosity, dermo-optic perception, prodigies, phenomena associated with twins reared apart, anomalous communication, human sensitivity to magnetic fields, skin adhesive power and paradoxes of consciousness. There are author, source, and subject indexes. This is a wonderful work both to browse and consult.